The Book Club
by Lioness-Goddess
Summary: Don finds something he truly enjoys...only to have it end in tragedy.


Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, don't own it. Boo hoo.

Donatello hadn't meant for the night to go as it had. In fact, he had only stepped out for a cursory glance around the city, on Leonardo's orders, in case there were some rebel Foot survivors still lurking around. He hadn't found any Foot…but the turtle had found something else to make the night veer off course.

After quickly scouting the city for any suspicious ninja behavior, Don had turned around to go home, but something on the lower street levels caught his eye. A fairly tall red-head, barely older than twenty had come out of a bar, walking quickly, carrying nothing but a small book clutched to her chest. Don smiled slightly as he noticed this - it seemed to him that people barely read for their own enjoyment anymore.

His smile quickly faded however, as four men dressed in dark colors seemed to pour out of an alley behind the young woman, beginning to follow her. She looked back. They stopped. She walked faster, and the thugs followed. Don rested a hand on the smooth wood of his Bo, pulling it from where it rested against his shell most of the time. He was going to put a stop to this before it even started.

Quickly leaping a few rooftops, Don managed to get ahead of the thugs, and silently dropped into an alley, melting into the shadows and lying in wait. As soon as the first guy passed the alley, Don grabbed him by the shirt and quickly knocked him out with a punch to the throat. The three other hoods followed stupidly, to see where their comrade had gone, and more importantly, to make sure another gang wasn't imposing on their turf.

Don dealt with them as quickly as he had the first one, not even needing to use his weapon of choice, knocking them all out with easy blows. Peeking around the brickwork, Don caught sight of the redhead, still walking at a good clip. She glanced back once more, and the turtle ducked back into the darkness of the alley. He glanced down at the thugs he had just taken care of. They wouldn't be waking up for a while, but Don decided to follow the girl, just in case.

He followed her for a few more blocks, until she ducked into a local Community Center. He could just go home right now….Don decided to just peek in the window and make sure she was okay, before setting off back to the lair. He glanced into the lobby window, and caught sight of her walking into an elevator. Don watched the number two light up. So she was going to the second story. She seemed okay…still…Don wondered what she had been reading. Locating a fire escape, the ninja easily scaled it, then climbed onto a window ledge. He had been lucky – right as he got his balance on the ledge, the redheaded woman walked in the door leading into the room he was facing. The window was open slightly, and Don tipped his head to hear better.

The room was occupied by four ladies already, not much older than the redhead herself. Don guessed that they were probably students at NYU. "What happened to you?" One of the women asked, taking in the redhead's raspy breathing.

"Some guys…followed me. They're gone now though." She explained to her friends. Don liked her voice immediately – light and musical.

"Glad you're okay." Another one of the women said, "So are we going to start, or what?"

The redhead smiled and nodded, taking a seat among her friends, laying the book in her lap. Don squinted to see the title. 'Ender's Game.' His smile widened – one of his favorite books.

The ladies in the room discussed the book for well over two hours. Don sat happily, ignoring the fact that both his legs had fallen asleep. He enjoyed the book discussion immensely, and was saddened when it ended.

When the women in the room dispersed, Don followed the redhead again, this time to a small apartment, near NYU, just in case. She got there safely, and Don watched her go in before heading home.

For the next couple of weeks, Donatello was prone to disappear on Wednesday nights for two hours or so. After getting the silent treatment for a day, his brothers stopped asking. As long as he wasn't getting hurt or hurting anyone, they had no business knowing where he went.

A month later, Don rose carefully on the window ledge, happily stretching the sore muscles in his legs, and carefully adjusting his hat over his eyes. He loved to go to listen to the girls' book club. Especially the redhead – she had made some pretty good points over the past month, most that Don agreed with. He had decided that she and her friends had to be pretty smart, and he admired them for setting up their little book club.

The four women in the room rose and began to gather their things. Don watched as the redhead left first. He hadn't followed her since the first night – he decided to do it one more time tonight, just to be safe.

The turtle hopped silently over the now familiar rooftops, every once in a while glancing down to make sure the redhead was still there. Don gathered his muscles to make another leap, and froze. Two of the same guys from the first night spilled out of a darkened alley, where they had apparently been drinking. Empty cans littered the ground. The woman looked back, and began to run. One of the men drew something out from the pocket of his sweatshirt, small and black.

Don only had time to register the word _gun_ before there was an earsplitting crack, and the redhead fell to the ground. He hadn't even had time to draw his own weapon. The two men ran and disappeared before Don managed to get to street level. It was late – the streets were nearly deserted. The people who were around didn't care, even ignoring Don's pleas for help. Don knelt by the body. The bullet had struck her right in the side of her head. She was dead before she even hit the ground. Silent tears running down his face, Don closed her eyes with shaking fingers. He hadn't even learned her name.

He looked around, cradling the woman's head in his lap – the woman he had admired so much. Don realized he was kneeling on her purse. Picking it up, he opened it with trembling hands. Inside was her copy of 'Ender's Game.'

Not knowing what else to do, Don carried her body to the nearest police station, laying it gently down on the first step, her copy of 'Ender's Game' nestled on her chest. Taking one more glance at her still form, Don turned and headed for home.

Behind him, the city bustled on.


End file.
